Juan Ponce de León
Juan Ponce de León y FigueroaDisney Second Screen was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in the early 1500s''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide, p24.. He was best known for his quest to find the fabled Fountain of Youth, a legendary spring which was said to grant eternal life. Ponce de León captained the ''Santiago during his search for the Fountain until his death. Biography Early life Juan Ponce de León y Figueroa was born to a noble Spanish family in the late 15th century. Although born into a noble family, he was poor, and like many in similar situations, he sought fame and fortune as a soldier. He received an education in fighting skills, manners, and religion while serving a knight named Pedro Nunez de Guzman, and later helped in the ten-year conquest of the Muslim kingdom of Granada in southern Spain. Discovery of the New World Juan Ponce de León accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World, later he helped conquering eastern Hispaniola and was appointed governor of the province of Higuey. He conquered Puerto Rico and was appointed it's first governor''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide'' and Jack Sparrow with Ponce de León's corpse.]] In 1750, during the quest for the Fountain of Youth, Ponce de León's corpse would still be in the bed aboard the Santiago. When Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa were searching for the Chalices of Cartagena, Jack wanted to take a look at the map of Fort San Miguel Ponce's corpse held. But when he put his hands on it, the corpse's head turned towards him, and then turned back after Barbossa told him to not touch the map. The body of Ponce de León would remain on the bed aboard the Santiago, examining the map for all eternity. Behind the scenes *Juan Ponce de León was portrayed by a skeleton prop in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. This prop was made to look like the "skeleton in the bed" seen from the POTC ride. *In real-world history, Juan Ponce de León died in 1521 on Cuba because of a wound from the poisoned arrow. *In the first screenplay draft of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Barbossa starts to search for the Fountain of Youth, using the captain's journal of Juan Ponce de León that he took from Tia Dalma, who received it from a mermaid. *Juan Ponce de León is a minor character in the novel On Stranger Tides, which was used as the basis for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. In the novel, he found the Fountain on his first expedition, and prolonged his life for the next two centuries. By 1718, he was known as Governor Sawney, an old drunkard on New Providence. *In LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, Ponce de León's portrait hangs on the wall of his cabin on the Santiago. The portrait shows him holding the Chalices of Cartagena. Appearances *''Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'' *''LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game'' Sources *''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide'' *''The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook'' Notes and references See also *Fountain of Youth External links * Category:Conquistadores Category:Deceased individuals Category:Governors Category:Males Category:Real-world individuals Category:Spaniards Category:Inhabitants of Cuba